Laying Down the Tracks: Groove Town

Now that Organic Melodies is finished and available at CD Baby (digital only for now), I have begun working on the next in the Studio Music For Artists series. This untitled album will have a jazzy/lounge theme to it and is going to be primarily guitar, bass, and drums, with the occasional surprise.

I am having a lot of fun writing and recording with this album, as I think will be the case for each one because they are themed and focused on a specific genre. It is nice to move from one style to the next. It honestly matches my personality to jump between genres, I love changing it up and trying to learn whatever new styles I come across. Jazz is something I have always had a great appreciation for. I like a simple effective groove, as well as upbeat whimsical tunes that just seem to flow out of nowhere. Improvisation is something I absolutely love. Some of the initial tracks I’ve recorded for this album have been one-take improvised jams and I will probably keep on several of those for the final product as to capture the essence of jazz.

Jazz can be a very broad term, so as not to be misleading, I will speak more on the musical direction that the album is going. I have a strong desire to try to make things a little funkier than normal, and in some cases this will show. Also, there are several songs of a more lounge variety that are more soothing than they are upbeat. It’s great to be able to jump around like this. I feel a little more free writing for this album than the Somewhere South of Houston album, and even Organic Melodies.

I have also been working on the packaging design for the album a lot recently. I always understood the importance of thumbnail sketching and brainstorming in school, but hated doing it. Now, I have grown to actually enjoy creating many smaller ideas and seeing what works best. I have done MANY brainstorming sketches for the packaging and have not settled on anything yet but I have a good idea about the direction of the design.

For the time being, I have posted one teaser track on my MySpace page for your listening pleasure. It is tentatively titled “Bounce,” and I have tried to make extra groov-a-licious so please let me know what you think.